Chest



S. F. PRATT Sept. 18, 1934.

CHEST 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1'7, 1933 Patented Sept. 18, 1934 Ni'i'ED STATES PATENro-FFICE Y 7 CHEST Seely F. Pratt, Le Roy, N. Y., assignorfltoThe' Union Steel Chest Corporation, Le Roy, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 17, 1933, Serial No. 630,877

15 Claims. (01'. 206,16) V This invention relates to chests or containers. the body of the chest showing the cover elevated One object of the invention is to provide a relaand the tray lifted out of the bodyofthe chest.- tively small metal or other chest or container Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on theline provided with a tray operatively connected with 4-4 of Fig. 3. 5 the chest and the cover thereof for automatic Fig.5 is an enlarged detail fragmentary View 60 swinging movement with the cover and mainshowing one form of means for swingingly'mount tained always in a horizontal plane and readily ing the tray with relation to the chesti' applied and disconnected from the chest or con- Fig. 6 is a detail fragmentary sectional view tainer. illustrating one of the pivotal or trunnion; con- 19 Another object resides in the provision of a nections betweenio ne end of the tray and'oneend 5 tray for chests or other containers constructed of the cover of the chest. l. for movable mounting in the chest Without inter- Fig. 7 is a detail frag y ew i ust in ference with movements of the cover of the chest a modified form of lever connection between the and which may be easily and readily removed body Of the est and et ay." i

. from the chest if desired for use independently Fig. Bis a side 'elevationof a'che'stshowing an- 7 of the chest and so constructed that it may be other form of lever connection betweenthe body employed for various purposes on counters, desks of the chest and the tray. V 1 or the like without danger of accidental up- Figl9 is a detail fragmentarytopplanv'iew 'ofl 5etting the invention,'illustrating the tray mounted for 69 A still further object of the invention is to prosliding movement on the body ofithe chest in- 75 vide a chest having a tray so constructed that dependent of any lever connection with'the cover. the tray may be readily supported within the chest Fig. 10 is a fragmentarydetail sectional View for swinging movement with relation to the cover onthe line 10--10'of Fig. 9. i of the chest or supported on the body of the chest Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view through independently of a connection with the cover so the tray illustrating the tray mounted one, table,

as to have a slidable movement on the upper edges counter or the like independently of association of the body under the cover of the chest without With the chest. i I a.

interference with the movements of the cover of Referring now more particularly to the ac th h t, I companying'drawings, the reference character A It is still further designed to provide a chest indicates th b y a Chest container D having a hinged cover with a tray swingingly convided with a cover B between which is detachably nected' with the chest and the cover, the arrangenn c d a win in d r m v l y C- ment being such as to provide for engagement h y A Of the Chest y be 001111305961 "of of the tray with the rear wall of the chest to a s tab at i but i is p rably or d 35 limit the outward swinging movement of the of thin Sheet metal n u n front a d rear cover with relation to the chest. walls 1 and 2 resp tiv y d end Wa11s3.The

With these and other objects in 'view, the inupper edges of the front rear d' Walls are vention consists in the construction and novel inwardly Ofiset at a forming confinuQus combination and arrangement of parts herein- Shoulder 4 upon which the front and rear flanges 48 after fully described, illustrated in the accom- 58 6, respectively, and theendfianges'lfvfithe panying drawings, and set forth in the claims cover B Test when the cover is closed and hereto appended, it being understood that various whereby the closedposition' the covgrthe Changes in the form, proportion and minor details flanges of the cover lie in the-vertical plane of the of construction, within the scope of the claims, Vertical walls of the body i The cover 13 is composed preferably of thin w may be resorted to Without departing from the 10 spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the 1 533 2 2 1 i ig figfig 8 :235 332 g g; ig a means may reside in the use of a hinge pintle '8 V 1} the a which passes through curled portions 8 of the figure a top plan view of the lnventlon rear flange of the cover and through curled por- 1 5 partly broken away to show the interior ,of the Hons 3a of the hinge members 31) Spot Wemed or f chest with the tray sw n ine y supp t h otherwise secured to the inner face of the rear F 2 is a transverse Sectional v w on th line wall of the body of the chest. If desired, the cover 2- -2 of Fig. 1. Y may be provided with a handle 9 having its inner Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through ends journaled in the bearingslo (Fig. '3) of the cover B so that when the cover is locked or fastened to the body in any suitable manner the chest or container may be readily and conveniently carried or transported from one place to another. A suitable locking means 11-12 may be associated with the chest and a specific description of the same is deemed unnecessary in this application.

The tray C is preferably semi-cylindrical in cross section and has substantially segmental shaped ends 13 provided at their upper edges with overhanging flanges 14 having their outer edges turned downwardly as at 15 for a purpose pres wardly and slightly rearwardly the tray is brought to-a position where the feet 17 of the legs 16 stop further rearward movement of v the cover. Therefore, when the cover B is elevated to permit access to the chest or to the tray, as will be later explained, the tray is maintained in horizontal position as shown in Fig. 4, and the cover is arrested in its rearward movement by engagement of the feet 17 of the legs 16 of the tray with the rear wall of the chest, as just alluded to. V

- To swingingly connect the tray to the cover and to the body of the chest and to maintain the tray normally in horizontal position and to provide for the. aforesaid limiting of the movement of the cover B by the tray, the tray is provided in each end withan aperture 18 adapted to receive trun nions, 19 projecting from the. ends of' the cover B. These trunnions 19 are laterally directed from the fiat portions 19 from which these trunnions are formed and the fiat portions 19 are secured to. the inner faces of the ends-of the cover by soldering, spot welding, or otherwise. The ends of the cover B being more or less flexible, these trunnions 19 may be sprung intoand out of the perforations 18atthe rear sides of the end pieces i 13 of the tray, and the trunnions 19-have spaced stops 19 which are swedged out of the metal ofwhich the trunnions are formed to provide stops calculated to maintain positive clearance inside the coverfor the tray. Each end piece of the tray also has a perforation 20 adjacent the front of the tray which is adapted to receive the laterallydirected outer ends 21 of the levers 22, one at each end of the chest and which are of peculiar formation and are detachably seated at their inner ends in apertures 23 in the end walls of the body A of the chest. By reason of this link or lever connection 22 22 between the body A of the chest and the tray at each end thereof, the tray swings relatively to the swinging of the cover B into and out of the body A of the chest and always in a horizontal position so that articles or materials carried by the tray are not dislodged from the tray as thecover is opened and closed, there being sufficient clearance between the ends of the tray and the ends of the body A to permitthe tray to be swung into and out of the body A of the chest. The ends of the tray are embossed outwardly slightly in a tapered formation as at 24 to take up or prevent play between the tray ends and the ends of the body A when the tray is mounted loosely on the upper edges of the inwardly set portions a of the ends of the body A and which may be the position of the tray at times if desired, as will be hereinafter explained.

In the preferred form of the invention the levers 22 arranged one at each end of the chest, are composed preferably of wire material and are resilient or yieldable, and as shown in the preferred form of the invention, as disclosed in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, these levers 22 are threaded or passed through the apertures 20 of the tray and the apertures 28 of the body A from the inside of the tray and the body. To this end the levers 22 have their inner or lower ends deflected as at 24' in rounded formation and defiected as at 25 to form a shoulder 26. The outer or upper end of each lever 22 has a head 27 formed at the outer end of the laterally directed portion 21. To thread or insert the levers from the inside of the body. A. and from the inside of the tray, these levers have their hooked inner or lower ends passed first through the apertures 20 of the tray and then the rounded lateral extensions 24 are passed through the apertures 23 of the body A to position the shoulders 26 of the levers 22 with relation to the perforations 23 in the body of the chest, the heads 27 of the levers 22 lying against the inner faces of the ends of the tray as shown particularly in Fig. 5 The levers 22 are slightly bent intermediate their ends as shown in Fig. 5

so as to provide for clearance between the levers 22 and the ends of the tray and the body A so as to prevent binding of the parts in the swinging movement of the cover and the tray with relation to the body A.

In another form of the invention the levers 22 may be threaded or inserted from the outside of the body A and the tray, as shown in Fig. 7, wherein the levers 22 have laterally directed ends 28 forming journals which are adapted to be sprung into the perforations 20 corresponding to the aforesaid perforations 20. The levers 22' are bent as in thecase of the levers 22 and at the inner or lower ends of the levers 22 they are directed laterally as at 29 and headed as at 30. To insert these levers 22 from the outside of the body A and from the outside of the tray, the laterally directed ends 28 are first passed through the apertures 23 inthe body A, and the levers directed upwardly to the perforations of the ends of the tray, while the heads of the levers bear against the ends of the body A. In either form of levers 2222' there is a spring action of the unheaded ends of the levers in their respective perforations, and this is provided by the resiliency or yieldability of the sheet metal of which the body and tray are formed, as well as the resiliency of the levers.

In another form of the invention, the levers may be formed as shown at 31 in Fig. 8, wherein the upper or outer ends of the levers 31 may be formed the same as shown in Fig. 7 and the headed lower or inner ends 32 of the levers 31 may operate in the bayonet slots 33, one in each end of the body A of the chest.

In the use of any one of the forms of levers 22, 22 or 31, illustrated, the tray 0 is adapted to swing with the cover B and always maintained in a horizontal plane to prevent dislodging of contents of the tray, and in each instance the feet 17 of the legs 16 of the tray are adapted to engage the upper edge of the rear wall of the body of the chest and to positively limit rearward movement of the coverand by virtue of which, when the cover is thrown to the limit of its outward movement,

the feet 1'7 of the tray legs 16 rest directly upon the inset portion a of the rear wall of the body portion of the chest. I

There are times when thetray is desired to be used separately from the chest, and in such a case, the tray may be readily removed from its pivotal connections from the body A and the cover 5, as should now be'well understood.

After the tray has been disconnected from the body A and the co-ver'B it'might be deslredto use thetray within the chest, but without the swinging movement. To this end the flan e 1% at the ends of the tray may be seated upon the upper edge of the ends of the body Affor a sliding movement of the tray transversely of the body to any point between the front and rear walls of the body A. The downwardly turned edges 15 of the flanges 14 cooperate with the outwardly bulged or embossed portions 24 to take up or prevent undue play between the tray ends and the ends of the body of the chest when t e tray is used as a loose tray, for this said sliding movement'of the same on the body A, There maybe times when it is desired to use the tray entirely independently of the chest. For instance, it may be d sired to use the tray for containing articles or materials withoutthe use of, the chest at all. Ihe tray is highly serviceable for use by cashiers or others on desks or counters, and in such'use the tray is highly serviceable-and not liable to accidental upsetting by virtue of the employment of the relatively large feet 17 on the legs 16 of the tray, and by virtue of which the tray may be adequately supported on a desk, table, or the like.

The tray may be of other form than that trated, and it may .or may not have pa" members in it, but as shown, tray is preferably divided up into a'plurality of coi'npartments by means of partitions 34 which may be e mental in formation to correspond with the or sectional form of the tray, and which are adapted to be seated in grooves 35 pressed'or otherwise formed in the bottom and front and rear walls or" the tray, and held therein by means of notches 36 formed in the lower edges of the partition 34 and adapted to be sprung over protuberances 37 projecting inwardly of the tray adjacent the ends of the grooves 35, and all grooves, protuberances ill , and partitions being formed alike, they are readily interchangeable and some partitions may be omitted to vary the side of the compartments in the tray if partitions are used.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I provide a relatively simple, inexpensive, durable and effective chest for the storage and transportation of articles or materials and that the tray may be swingingly or slidably mounted with relation to the chest, or entirely removed therefrom and used for purposes aside from general use of the chest. If desired, the exterior of the cover may be provided with graduations b and the interior thereof provided with graduations c, for measuring purposes.

What is claimed is:

l. A chest comprising a body and a cover hinged to the body at the back thereof and provided with marginal flanges, and a tray extending longitudinally of the chest and pivoted at its ends adjacent the rear wall to the end flanges of the cover, and levers pivotally mounted on the end walls of the chest and pivotally connected to the end walls of the tray and adapted to maintain the tray in a horizontal position throughout the opening and closing movements of the cover,

' said tray having feet arranged to engage and rest uponthe back wall of the body of the chest to limit the opening movement of the cover.

2. 'A chest comprising a body and a cover hinged to-the body at the back thereof and provided with marginal flanges, and a tray extending longitudinally ol' the chest and pivoted at its ends adjacent the rear wall to the end flanges of thecover, and levers pivotally mounted on the end walls of the chest and pivotally connected to the end walls of the tray'and adapted to maintain the ti'ay'in a horizontal position throughout the opening and closing movements of the cover, said levers being resilient and bent intermediate their ends and having detachable connection with the body of the chest and tray;

3. Achest comprising a body'and a cover hinged to the body at the back thereof, and a tray pivotally connected to the body and to the cover for swinging movement with the latter and having projecting portions engageabl'e with the rear wall of the body to limit the opening swinging movement of the cover.

4. A chest comprising a body and a cover hinged to the body at the back thereof, and a tray pivotally connected to the body and to the cover for swinging movement with the latter and having downwardly projecting legs provided with laterally directed feet adapted to swing into engagement with the rear wall of the chest as the cover is opened so as to thereby limit the opening movement of the cover.

5. A chest comprising a body and a cover hinged to the body at the back thereof, and a tray pivotally connected to the body and to the cover for swinging movement into and out of the body as the cover is swinging in oppositedirections to open and close the chest, the tray having flanges at its ends which overlie the ends of the body when the cover is in closed position and also havingfprojecting portions for engagement with the rear wall of the chest to limit the outward swingingmovement of the cover.

' 6. A chest comprising a body' and a cover hingedly connected thereto, and a tray disposed in the body and having flanges at its ends for engagement with the upper edges of the end walls of the body for sliding movement transversely oi the body between the front and rear walls thereof on the ends of the body, the ends of the tray having outwardly bulged portions for engagement with the inner faces of the ends of the body to prevent undue longitudinal play of the tray with relation to the body.

'7. A chest comprising a body and a hinged cover therefor, the cover having a trunnion at each end, and a tray having a perforation at each end adapted to be sprung over said trunnions whereby to pivctally connect the tray to the cover, levers pivotally connected to the body and to the tray to effect swinging movement of the tray with the cover so as to swing the tray into and out of the body and to maintain the tray in horizontal position whether in or out of the body, and means carried by the tray for engagement with the rear wall of the body to limit the outward swinging movement of the cover.

8. A chest comprising a body, and a tray including a body substantially semi-circular in cross section and of less width than said chest body and at its ends having flanges adapted to rest slidably upon the upper edges of the end walls of the chest for backward and forward movement transversely of the body on the upper edges of the ends of the latter.

9. A chest comprising abody, and a tray including a body substantially semi-circular in cross section and of less width than said chest body and at its ends having flanges adapted to rest slidably upon the upper edges of the end walls of the chest for backward and forward movement transversely of the body on the upper edges of the said flanges of the ends of the body, the outer edges of the flanges being directed down- Wardly.

10. A chest comprising a body, and a tray including a body substantially semi-circular in cross section and at its ends having flanges adapted to rest upon the upper edges of the end walls of the chest, the outer edges of the flanges being directed downwardly, and the ends of the tray below said flanges having outwardly directed projecting portions to lie adjacent the inner faces of the body to coact with the said flanges and their downwardly turned edges to prevent undue longitudinal play of the tray relative to the body of the chest. I 11. A chest comprising a body and a hinged cover therefor, a tray, means for pivotally and detachably connecting the tray to the body and to the cover, the tray having flanges at its ends to rest upon the end walls of the body upon disconnection of said detachable means, and means carried by the tray to engage the rear wall of the body to limit the outward swinging movement of the cover.

12. A chest comprising a body and a hinged cover therefor, a tray, means for pivotally and detachably connecting the tray to the body and to the cover, the tray having flanges at its ends to rest upon the end walls ofthe body upon disconnection of said detachable means, and legs depending from the ends of the tray and having feet adapted to rest on the rear wall of the body to limit the outward swing of the cover.

, 13. A chest comprising a body, a cover movably 7. connected to the body, a tray pivoted at its ends to the cover, levers pivotally and removably connected to the ends of the body and pivotally and removably connected to the tray so as to give pivotal movement to the tray upon movement of the cover, and means carried by the tray for engagement with the body to arrest and limit opening movement of the cover.

14. A chest comprising a body provided in two of its opposite walls with perforations, a hinged cover for the body, a tray pivotally connected at one side of the cover and provided adjacent the other side with perforations, and levers each having its terminals extended in opposite directions and forming trunnions arranged in the aforesaid perforations of the body and the tray, each of said levers being provided at one end with a head forming a stop to retain such trunnion in its respective perforation against movement in one direction and the trunnion when moved in the opposite direction being adapted to be withdrawn through the perforation so as to remove the respective lever from connection with the body and the tray.

15. A chest comprising a body provided in two of its opposite walls with perforations, a hinged cover for the body, a tray pivotally connected at one side to the cover and provided adjacent the other side with perforations, and levers each having its terminals extended in opposite directions and forming trunnions arranged in the aforesaid perforations of the body and the tray, each of said levers being of resilient material and bent intermediate of its ends and having trunnions each being provided atone end with a head forming a stop to retain such trunnion in its respective perforation against movement in one direction and having the trunnion at the opposite end of the re spective lever sprung into the respective perforation and each lever when its headed trunnion is moved in the opposite direction from that aforesaid being adapted to be withdrawn through the perforation when the sprung trunnion is removed from its perforation so as to thereby remove the respective levers from connection with the body and the tray.

SEELY F. PRATT. 

